Rep. Lujan Grisham Opposes Effort to Once Again Target Federal Employees

Statement

Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01) released the following statement after she voted against H.R. 273, To eliminate the 2013 statutory pay adjustment for Federal employees.

"I voted against a bill that freezes any raise for federal workers. As a Member of Congress that may receive a pay raise, I outright reject this. The last Congress already froze Member pay for this year. This bill only seeks to harm the federal workers, like Social Security or Veterans Affairs workers who have already contributed $100 billion towards reducing the deficit through pay freezes and additional reductions in their benefits.

"This vote is nothing more than another political ploy by the Republicans in Congress to play gotcha politics instead of focusing on the most pressing issue facing this country: sequestration. I'm voting against this bill because we need Federal Workers in infrastructure projects, in airport security, to ensure food safety, for law enforcement. H.R. 273 provides no stability or predictability to our economy and our small business owners. Instead of passing a measure focused on helping the long-term growth of our economy, Republicans continue to hurt it with measures such as this that punish middle class families. We cannot put the burden of our fiscal challenges on their shoulders alone.

"I stand ready to write a check to the Department of Treasury and return to the taxpayers the amount of any pay increase I could receive."

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